Blondies have more fun!(and what the hell is Aqua Faba?)

This recipe is vegan, gluten free and sugar free. And if you left out the baking soda and the baking powder, replaced the chocolate chips for some cacao nibs, you could put the cookie dough mixture in your fridge and have a lovely treat on your raw days!

INGREDIENTS

One tin of drained and rinsed chickpeas

1/3 of a cup of maple syrup

1/2 cup of peanut butter, or almond butter (if you can afford it, go for Meridian or Whole Earth. They have nothing in them but the nuts, and dont have any harmful Palm Oil. However, any will do, they all work the same and taste the same.)

2 tea spoons of vanilla extract

1/2 tea spoon of salt

1/4 tea spoon of baking powder

1/4 tea spoon of baking soda

1/3 cup of dark chocolate chips.

 

METHOD

Ok, so super duper easy!

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Now, when you drain them, that smelly liquid, DO NOT throw that away, that stuff is gold. In the vegan world that is called Aqua Faba, and it is so full of the protein that has soaked out of the chick peas that, if you add a little caster sugar to mask the flavour and whisk it up, it turns into white, stiff peaks, and you have yourself a meringue. I shit you not. You can also freeze it. Usually 3 table spoons is the equivalent to one egg, so use it to make pancakes and waffles! I know! Who the hell discovered it? I dont know but i would love to give them a hug.

(and why is it called aqua faba? I dont know that either, but i suppose its better than calling it ‘smelly chick pea liquid!)

Get yourself a small, preferably 8 x 8 baking tray. But what ever works for you really. It needs to be small as this doesn’t make a huge amount of mixture and you will just have a very very skinny blondie if, for example, you try to use your grill pan. Line your baking tray with grease proof paper. For the non sticking.

Get yourself a blender and wizz up all the ingredients NOT THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

TIP: the peanut butter is hard to wizz up as its so sticky, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to melt it a little and to make it easier to use. The more you know!

wizzz wizzz wizzzz wizzzzz

Pour it out into your baking tray. Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto it and squish them into it.

Lick the utensils. There is no egg in this so it cant hurt you and OMG it is the best cookie dough ever. Fight the urge to eat the lot. (Dont lick it from the blade, come on now!)

Bake. At 175c for 20 mins. When you take it out of the oven, its is still really soft. Resist the urge to cook it for longer. As with brownies, it will set as it cools. Don’t take it out of the baking tray yet either. It will just crack and collapse. Leave it for about 20 minutes to cool down and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Eat.

Try to have better table manners than me, i pulled it apart and shoved it in my face like a Viking. A VIKING!!!!!!

As i said before, if you leave out the baking soda and powder,  there is nothing in this that you cant eat raw, and it makes an astoundingly good cookie dough. Which is fabulous if you are having a powerful raw day, because i know when i do, it really helps to have something as a sweet treat.

Take a picture. Instagram it. Make everyone jealous. Be an astounding sparkly vegan warrior.

Love, Polly x